Wedding Bells
by IantojJackh
Summary: Add on for Return to Pegasus. It is Jennifer and Rodney wedding day. Share in their happiness.


**Wedding Bells**

_Two months later- October 31, 2010_

Rodney sighed heavily as he pulled at the sleeves of his tuxedo jacket. "I hate these things." He looked at himself in the mirror and frowned. "I looked like a stuffed penguin."

John rolled his eyes. "Can you quit complaining for one moment? You're getting married to a very beautiful woman who is crazy for you." He walked over to the playpen that had been in his quarters since the previous night. It was an interesting evening having both Rodney and Arthur stay in his quarters. "Your daddy is being extra cranky today. Can you do something about that?" John made a silly face at his godson who laughed in response.

"I am not complaining." Rodney sounded offended. "I was stating a fact. And don't use my son against me. I am not cranky. Just uncomfortable." He pulled at the neck of his shirt.

"Now that is a complaint." John glanced over at his friend. "You look fine. People won't be looking at you anyway. You are just the poor schmuck along for the ride today." He teased. "Diluted apple juice?" He offered up Arthur's cup. "It will help with the crankiness."

Rodney usually enjoyed bickering with Sheppard, but he wasn't in the mood for it today. "It's not too late for me to rescind your best man status." The groom looked at his watch. "I still have a whole half hour to do that. Ronon is standing out the door so he can be the only one." He was fidgeting now. He was cranky and complaining because he was nervous.

John smirked when he saw his friend fidget. "You're nervous aren't you?" This was Rodney of course he would be nervous. "What do you have to be nervous about?"

"You're joking me right?" Rodney looked at John like he had three heads. "How can you ask me that? What if she decides I am not worth it and she decides to run?" He really looked panic stricken.

"Rodney you are crazy. I can give you a list of reasons why she is not going to run." John was going to play his game. It was the man's wedding day and he needed a little reassurance.

Rodney snorted disbelievingly. "Like what?"

"First off there is this little guy in here." John smiled as he watch the little boy babble to himself in the play pen. "Plus she's lived with you for almost two years and she hasn't left. You saved her life on your first date. Woman dig that kind of stuff. Even after you forgot everything about her and had to postpone your first wedding and she still wants to marry you."

"There is one other thing. You can consider this one of my wedding gifts to you." He had kept this little part a secret for years and thought it would a small little wedding gift. "You remember that whole monkeying around with the timeline thing a few years back?" A nod from Rodney showed that he remembered it. "And recall you me saying that Woolsey wasn't the weirdest thing from that timeline?"

Rodney really had no idea where his best man was going with this. "A vague recollection." He had always known there were parts of the story Sheppard had left out.

"So if you had any doubt that this wasn't meant to be...that weirdest thing I mentioned still ended up happening and it is having a much happier ending. The thought of losing her is what made that alternate you come up with the idea of changing the timeline. You are living the life the other you wanted. He spent twenty-five years to make all of this happen. Don't ruin it. Plus, you two went through the hardest thing for a parent to go through," John explained, hoping Rodney got what he was saying.

Rodney really did not want to know much more of what happened. The groom felt himself starting to get a little emotional when John had brought up Elizabeth. "I wish she could be here today."

John nodded. "I know. She is here in a way," he said glumly.

* * *

Jennifer was pacing back and forth in her quarters as Teyla tried to get her to sit down. "Jennifer, if you don't sit down I cannot finish your hair."

The bride sighed as she sat herself down. It was clear that she was very nervous. "I don't know if I can do this." Her face was flushed.

Teyla put her hands on the other woman's shoulder. She was sure this nervousness was normal for a bride on their wedding day. She did not have the chance to experience this yet. "Take a few deep breaths." She wished Jeannie was here, but she was making sure everything was alright with the flowers.

Jennifer was on her feet again, pacing. "Is it normal to be this nervous? What if something happened to Arthur?"

The other woman smiled. "It is and I think if something happened to Arthur, Rodney would have let us know."

The bride sat down again. "I haven't seen him since last night." Jennifer got back on her feet. "What if something goes wrong? What if the Wraith attack the city?"

Teyla wondered if John was dealing with a similarly nervous Rodney. As much as the couple was different they were also very alike. "Don't think like that, Jennifer. Today is supposed to be a happy day. Nothing is going to go wrong. Now please sit so I can finish your hair."

Jennifer did as she was told, but sighed heavily. She couldn't get over the nervous feeling that was consuming her. "I really don't know if I can do this… all those people out there."

The Athosian went to work on the bride's hair, twisting some parts into a crown around her head and letting the rest fall off her shoulders. "Do you love him?"

"Of course I do. More than anything. It is just all those people. I think half of them just want to see if the ceremony actually happens." Jennifer was biting her lip.

Teyla stopped for a second. "All that matters today is you and Rodney. Don't worry about anything else."

"I should check to see they are okay." Jennifer reached for the earwig sitting on the table.

The other woman nodded. "If it will calm you." Teyla watched as the bride make a call on the radio.

Jennifer pressed the button on the radio. "Rodney, come in."

John heard the call coming in on the radio, but Rodney was too busy feeding his son to hear it. "How may I direct you call..." He wondered what Jennifer wanted. Sheppard was not paying attention to Rodney and did not see the food until it was too late and they hit the side of his face. "Yuck. What the hell?"

"Everything okay?" She wondered what caused that reaction.

Sheppard wrinkled his nose and tasted what was thrown at him. "Do you feed your son prunes?" He glared at Rodney was finishing feeding the boy.

"It is one of Arthur's favorites. Why?"

"Because your darling husband to be just threw some at me." Now John had Rodney's attention and he was looking at him.

"Let me talk to him, please." Jennifer asked.

John tossed the earwig toward Rodney. "For you. Your blushing bride."

Rodney felt a knot grow in his stomach. The nervousness from earlier was returning. He wondered if she was backing out. "Jennifer?" His voice was shaking slightly.

She felt better hearing his voice, but she suddenly lost the ability to talk. Jennifer had no idea what to say.

The silence made the groom even more nervous. _Oh no, she is leaving me. _Rodney started to panic. "You still there?"

Jennifer could hear the panic in his voice. "I am. I wanted to check in on my two favorite men." She was as nervous as he was.

"Arthur just finished eating so he is fine."

"What about you?" The bride asked.

"Nervous, scared, dread. You know just the normal feelings of impending doom." Rodney replied. He looked at John who was rolling his eyes.

Jennifer laughed nervously. "Impending doom? Seriously?" Leave it to him to feel doom on his wedding day.

He started to stutter. "Well you know... if you chose not to do this. So that kind of impending doom."

"I'm scared too. I guess it is too late to head to Vegas to get married." She teased.

"Everyone is here. I guess we should just get it over with." Rodney's nerves were starting to calm.

"Then I will see my two favorite people in all of the galaxies at the south pier in fifteen minutes."

"We will be waiting." He smiled at his son. "I love you."

"Love you too." Jennifer was excited in that less than a hour she would be married. "Don't be late."

* * *

Ten minutes later Rodney was standing at the end of the south pier, holding Arthur and John and Ronon standing next to him. Sheppard was the only one in the group to look relaxed. Rodney was nervous and Ronan uncomfortable in a tuxedo.

"Stop fidgeting." John whispered to Rodney. "You aren't going to be sick are you?" he noticed how pale the groom looked.

"No," Rodney said annoyed.

"I think you are." Ronon chimed in. "You know it is a Satedan rule that if the groom gets sick at his wedding I am allowed to stun them."

The groom rolled his eyes. "Real funny. I'm glad you find this all so amusing." Rodney looked at the crowd that had gathered. Everyone from the city was there with the exception of the skeleton crew in the control room. Several SGC personnel was there as well. Jeannie was sitting next to Samantha Carter; that caused Rodney to frown. Who knew what stories those two could come up with about him.

"Why did you have to get married on Halloween? I can't wear my Superman costume." John teased as he waited for the ceremony to begin.

Rodney elbowed his friend in the stomach. "No one wants to see you in a pair of tights anyway."

"It is not a flattering look for you." Ronon added.

John glared at Dex, "How would you know?"

"I don't." The Satedan shrugged. "I just thought it would be something you two would say to each other."

John and Rodney looked and each other and nodded. "True." Sheppard agreed and a caught a glimpse of a mark on the back Rodney's neck. He pulled at the back of the groom's shirt to get a better look. "Is that a hickey?"

Rodney squirmed to get away from John. "So what." His face turned red. "Don't act like you've never seen one before."

"Just wondering what you were doing to get one back there." Sheppard smirked. "Does Jennifer know?"

McKay rolled his eyes, "I am not dignifying that with a response." He said with a huff and elbowed John in the stomach once more. "Now shut up." Music started signaling the start of the ceremony.

* * *

Jennifer looked at herself in the full-length mirror and smoothed out her dress. She was mixed with sadness and joy. She wished her father and Elizabeth could be here to share in this day. All that was left was for Carson to arrive so he could walk her down the aisle... or down the pier in this case.

The bride turned around when there was a knock at the door. "Carson," she smiled as he entered the room. "You made it."

"I would not miss this for anything, lass." Beckett smiled. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you," Jennifer blushed. She was more than ready for this.

"You ready?" Carson offered his arm. He was happy for both of his friends. This day was a long time coming for both of them.

The bride nodded. "Been waiting for this for a long time." Jennifer took the other doctor's arm and walked out of the room. She could hear her heart beating through her ears and her breath shaky.

"Are you alright, love?"

"Just nervous, scared, dread. You know just the normal feelings of impending doom." Jennifer repeated the words Rodney said to her earlier.

Carson laughed at her choice of words. He knew those words could only be straight from Rodney's mouth. "Have you been talking to Rodney this morning?"

She nodded. "How did you guess?"

"You are starting to sound like him." Carson replied as they arrived where Teyla and Marie were waiting for them. Her nervousness increased tenfold as the music began and the other woman started walking toward where Rodney and the others stood.

Rodney could feel his chest tighten as he saw Teyla and Marie headed toward him. His breath caught in his throat when he caught sight of his bride. He had never seen anything so beautiful before and his mouth hung slightly open.

John was looking at Jennifer too and jabbed his friend in the back. "Close your mouth. She is already yours." he laughed.

"Doesn't your mommy look beautiful?" McKay whispered to his son. He could not take his eyes off of his bride.

Jennifer's eyes locked with Rodney's as she walked toward him and all her nervousness evaporated when she saw him smile at her. The bride returned the smile as she looked at her two favorite people.

The smile was all Rodney needed to calm him. Right there he knew everything would be fine. As Jennifer and Carson got closer he turned to hand Arthur to John.

When they arrived at their destination, Carson lifted Jennifer's veil and kissed her on the cheek. "Best of luck." He then turned to Rodney and shook his hand. "Treat her well, Rodney."

"That goes without saying," The Canadian smiled and then turned to his bride. "Here we go."

"I'm ready." She smiled.

The base chaplain began the ceremony and everything progressed until it was time with the vows. "The couple has chosen to recite their own vows." He looked over at the bride.

Jennifer took a deep breath before she started to speak. She smiled at Rodney and took his hands. This was the easy part; to let everyone know what she felt. "I never thought that this day would come. I used to dream about this day as a little girl and so far it exceeds those dreams. I cannot imagine anyone else that I want to be standing next to today, pledging to spend the rest of my life with. If I had listened to what people said about you I would never have gotten to know the true you; someone who I cannot imagine my life without. You do not see what an amazing person you truly are and every day you continue to amaze me more and more. I wish that you could see yourself the way that I see you. You are an excellent father and my best friend. You are brave, compassionate and a whole other list of things that will take too long to list. I love you more with each passing day. I never used to believe it when people say that there is one person out there that is perfectly made for you. Then I met you and I learned that there is something to that statement. You are my one true love, Rodney McKay. My heart is forever yours. Today is the first day of the rest of our lives." By the time she was finished tears were rolling down her face. Jennifer squeezed Rodney's hands and laughed slightly. "My legs are shaking so much right now." She said only that he could hear her. "Your turn."

Rodney felt himself get light-headed as Jennifer spoke her vows. Her words had a profound effect on him. "Mine too." He said about his legs."You have this crazy effect on me. It's scary sometimes" He looked at the chaplain and then back at Jennifer and began with his vows, " I had it all planned out what I was going to say and then when I saw you looking so beautiful the words I had planned just vanished. I am just going to let the words come as they do. Speak from the heart as it were. I know I am not the easiest person to get along with and I have quite a bit of shortcomings, but when I am with you I don't have to pretend. I don't have to prove myself to you. You let me be me and still love me for it. I sometimes ask myself how did I get such a beautiful and wonderful woman to fall in love with me and that I haven't messed it up. For a long time I knew there was something that was missing from my life and I was never able to determine what it could be. I used to think that my work was the only thing that could make me truly happy. I'm glad to admit I was wrong. Our family. That is what true happiness is to me. Jeannie once said that I couldn't do better, but I didn't listen. If I had I would never had the chance to know what real true unconditional love was. Jennifer, I love you more than I could ever begin to put into words. I want to make you happy until the day I die." To Rodney it felt like he had said all those words in one breath.

The couple was riding an emotional high after their vows. Their hands were shaking as they slid the rings on each other's finger.

After the chaplain told Rodney that he could _kiss the bride_ he pulled his wife close to him. "Now for the best part. I get to kiss my wife."

"And I get to kiss my husband." Jennifer erased the distance between the lips for their first kiss as a married couple.


End file.
